Current steering is often used in cochlear implant systems to more effectively represent sound presented to cochlear implant patients. In traditional current steering strategies, weighted stimulation current is applied concurrently to two adjacent electrodes by a cochlear implant system in order to stimulate a stimulation site located in between areas associated with the electrodes. In this manner, the cochlear implant system may create a perception of a frequency in between the frequencies associated with the electrodes.
While current steering is effective in augmenting sound perception, it may introduce spectral broadening. In other words, an excitation field created by the current steering may be relatively wider than that created by stimulation of a single electrode (which may occur when the frequency of interest corresponds directly with the electrode). The spectral broadening may result in the patient perceiving a relatively noisier tone than what the patient may perceive when the single electrode is stimulated. Such fluctuations in noise perception may be undesirable and frustrating for the patient.